Introduction: The stringent response is a bacterial adaptation mechanism triggered by stress conditions, including nutrient limitation. This response helps bacteria survive under harsh conditions, such as those encountered during infection. A key feature of the stringent response is the synthesis of the alarmone (p)ppGpp, which influences various bacterial phenotypes. In several bacterial species, stringent response activation significantly affects biofilm formation and maintenance. Methods: Clinical specimens were collected from multiple hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq. Staphylococcus aureus was identified using conventional biochemical tests. The PCR technique was applied to detect mecA, icaA, and icaD genes, while the Vitek 2 compact system confirmed Methicillin sensitivity in mecA-negative isolates. Biofilm intensity of all S. aureus isolates was assessed under normal and starved conditions. Additionally, the gene expression levels of icaA and icaD were measured in five MRSA and five MSSA strains under both conditions. Results: The mecA, icaA, and icaD genes were detected in 94%, 96.3%, and 100% of S. aureus isolates, respectively. Biofilm production analysis showed that 24% of isolates were strong producers, 49% were moderate producers, and 9% were weak producers. Statistical analysis indicated that biofilm intensity significantly decreased under nutrient limitation (p < 0.0001) compared to normal conditions across all isolates. Furthermore, icaA and icaD genes were upregulated under stringent response conditions, regardless of Methicillin resistance status. Conclusion: The stringent response influences S. aureus biofilm formation, with biofilm intensity decreasing under nutrient-limited conditions. However, the upregulation of icaA and icaD genes suggests a regulatory role of the stringent response in biofilm-related gene expression. These findings highlight the potential impact of stress adaptation mechanisms on bacterial persistence and pathogenicity.
Autoimmune hepatitis is an inflammatory disease and its incidence has been increasing. The features of hepatitis are the release of inflammatory cytokines, the elevation of AST and ALT, and hepatocyte apoptosis and necrosis. Concanavalin A considered as essential model represents the acute immune-mediated liver damage in rodents. Thymoquinone is well known herbal compound that exert hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity. In this study, we focus on the immunoregulatory and liver protective effect of thymoquinone in a mouse model of concanavalin A-induced liver injury.
Twenty-four male mice were randomly divided into four groups each containing six animals: Negative control group, concanavalin A model group,
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Free radical formation in heme proteins is recognized as a factor in mediating the toxicity of many chemicals. The present study was designed to evaluate the dose-response relationship of the free radical scavenging properties of pentoxifylline in nitrite-induced Hb oxidation. Different concentrations of pentoxifylline were added at different time intervals of Hb oxidation in erythrocytes lysate, and formation of methemoglobin (MetHb) was monitored spectrophotometrically. The results showed that in this model, pentoxifylline successfully attenuates Hb oxidation after challenge with sodium nitrite; this protective effect was found to be not related to the catalytic stage of Hb oxidation, th
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Background: Doxorubicin is considered one of the most effective anticancer drugs, yet it is use is limited by its side effect mediated by the generation of reactive oxygen species. Omega-7, an antioxidant has shown to have a cardioprotective effect.
Aim of the study: evaluate a possible protective effect of omega-7 against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in male rats.
Methods: twenty-eight male rats were divided into 4 groups (7 for each group). Group 1 (Negative control): healthy animals received normal saline orally as the vehicle for eight successive days and were sacrificed on day 9. Group 2 (positive control): animals that r
... Show MoreIn engineering, the ground in seismically active places may be subjected to static and seismic stresses. To avoid bearing capacity collapse, increasing the system's dynamic rigidity, and/or reducing dynamic fluctuations, it may be required to employ deep foundations instead of shallow ones. The axial aptitude and pipe pile distribution of load under static conditions have been well reported, but more study is needed to understand the dynamic axial response. Therefore, this research discusses the outputs of the 3D finite element models on the soil-pile behavior under different acceleration intensities and soil states by using MIDAS GTS NX. The pipe pile was represented as a simple elastic, and a modified Mohr-Coulomb mode
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Background: The emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacilliin burn wound infections related to biofilm formation, which lend to challenge in treatment with conventional antibiotics andprompting to search for novel antimicrobial agents to control the infections.Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have wide spectrum biological properties with different mechanisms of action and less toxicity towards human cells.
Objective:The goal of this study was to evaluated the anti-bacterial and anti-biofilm activities of AgNPs alone and in combination with aminoglycoside (Amikacin) and β-lactam (Ampicillin) antibiotics against multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacilli (Pseudomonas aeruginos
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The main aim of this study is to investigate the ability of four local entomopathogenic isolates Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Met.) to control the mosquito larvae in the lab. The results revealed that the isolate (MARD48) B .bassiana reduced the survival rate of the mosquito larvae to (80%) followed by the isolate M. anisopliae (MARD10) to (90%) in the first two days of treatment, and 60 and 66% respectively in the third day. The results also showed that the isolate B. bassiana (MARD48) killed 50% of the population (LC50) with the concentration 1×104 conidia/ml compared to 1×107 conidia/ml for the isolates B. bassiana (MARD14) and M. anisopliae (MARD10), and 1×108 conidia/ml for the isolate B .bassiana (MARD76).
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The researchers have a special interest in studying Markov chains as one of the probability samples which has many applications in different fields. This study comes to deal with the changes issue that happen on budget expenditures by using statistical methods, and Markov chains is the best expression about that as they are regarded reliable samples in the prediction process. A transitional matrix is built for three expenditure cases (increase ,decrease ,stability) for one of budget expenditure items (base salary) for three directorates (Baghdad ,Nineveh , Diyala) of one of the ministries. Results are analyzed by applying Maximum likelihood estimation and Ordinary least squares methods resulting
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